Keep it All in the Family
by spygrl007
Summary: Modern day story of Phillip, Jamie, Lee and Amanda - All of whom are now involved in the Agency


Title: "All in the Family"  
  
Author: Miranda (Mandaking2000@aol.com)  
  
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters that are copyrighted by Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. It is meant for enjoyment purposes. I retain the rights to the plot and not the characters.  
  
September 2002 Cincinnati Ohio Union Terminal  
  
Phillip was being chased. He hurried into the terminal with every intention of blending in with the crowd waiting to enter the exhibits.  
  
'Damn!' he thought ruefully. 'A simple courier assignment and two agents are already dead.' Phillip anxiously looked around at the groups of people milling around inside the lobby.  
  
He watched as his contact, Jackson, scanned the crowd while trying not to be too obvious. He was trying to locate Phillip, finally spotting him at the door, Phillip watched as Jackson made his way through the gate of the Omnimax theatre.  
  
Phillip glanced over his shoulder to see if the two men following him had entered the terminal. 'I'm never going to make it in there without those goons spotting me.' He conceded regretfully. He decided to find someone to carry the disk into the theatre. He spotted a group of young students standing just outside the gate and caught the eye of the young woman standing with them.  
  
She was as good a bet as any, he decided. She was tall and muscular with dark brown hair and an amused look in her eyes. She turned away from him and headed toward the entrance of the Omnimax theatre with the students.  
  
"Time to make my move," Phillip told himself as he headed in the same direction. He headed her off just before she reached the entrance as the children continued to file into the theatre. "Excuse me," he started as he pulled the disk from his pocket and thrust it into her hands, "I need you to take this inside and hand it to the man wearing a Bengal's sweatshirt."  
  
"Excuse me?" She demanded in disbelief, pulling away from him. "That's about the worst pick up line I have ever heard." She laughed as she tried to hand it back to him.  
  
Phillip grabbed her arm, "Please! I'm not joking and I'm not trying to pick you up." He glanced back to the entrance where he could see the two men through the glass doors. He watched them search frantically for him.  
  
The woman followed his gaze and saw two disreputable men among schoolteachers and children.  
  
"Please," Phillip pleaded.  
  
She turned back to face the young man in front of her.  
  
"Just take this and give it to the man in the Bengal's sweatshirt. That's all you have to do then you can forget this ever happened."  
  
"Okay," she reluctantly agreed and started through the entrance, "They just spotted you." Without looking back she headed through the gated entrance of the theatre.  
  
Phillip watched her walk through the doors and then turned his gaze to the crowd to see where the two assassins were. They had indeed spotted him and the two goons were making their way toward him. He quickly headed to the souvenir shop where a larger crowd had gathered.  
  
Just before he reached the ambiguity of the larger crowd, the two men caught up with him. As the woman watched from just beyond the gate of the Omnimax, the larger man pulled out a small pistol and aimed it toward the man who had handed her the disk.  
  
"Good grief, this can't be for real." she muttered softly and hurried down the hallway that led to the theatre. When she reached the landing and looked down into the theatre there were six different men wearing Bengal's sweatshirts. "Good grief," she muttered again, "what am I supposed to do now?" She slipped the disk into her pocket and joined her sister's seventh grade class who were already seated in the center of the theatre.  
  
"What took you so long?" her sister, Mindy asked her as she sat down.  
  
"I thought I saw someone I knew," Madison informed her as she looked around the theatre again, "but I was wrong."  
  
*----------------------------------------------*  
  
"You did what?!"  
  
Phillip cringed as he heard his stepfather's voice through the phone. "I handed it off to a woman to give to Jackson. I knew that if I went into that theatre they were going to find me and get the disk. I couldn't take that chance, Lee. It seemed a good idea at the time." Phillip waited for the inevitable blow up.  
  
"A good idea?! Well, now we have two dead agents, one missing agent, and a lost disk that may, or may not have the answer to our leak! Phillip, this was a simple assignment. Pick up the disk and hand it off. How could so much have gone wrong?"  
  
"I don't know, unless the leak is closer to us than we think," Phillip ventured thoughtfully.  
  
"That's what I am afraid of," Lee sighed and Phillip knew the explosion was over. "Okay, what do we know about this woman?" Lee had always blown his top and calmed in a matter of minutes. It was one of the things Phillip loved about his stepfather.  
  
"I haven't found out much about her yet. She was escorting a seventh grade field trip from some school over in Kentucky. I have the name of the school. I should be able to find her from that."  
  
"Okay, keep me posted. I want to know as soon as you find out exactly who she is and if she has that disk. We need to find out exactly who we're dealing with. When Jackson comes in I want to know. He may have the disk after all and this search for the chaperone may not even be necessary."  
  
Phillip heard Lee sigh again, "Be careful, Phillip. We have no idea what we're dealing with here."  
  
"Sure thing, boss." Phillip laughed and they hung up.  
  
Lee looked over at his wife of fifteen years as she finished typing. "Phillip's run into some problems."  
  
"But he's okay?" Amanda asked, concerned. Phillip and Jamie may have been fully grown but she still worried when they were out of her sight.  
  
"Yes, he's fine. Harry Gorman and Michael Halverson were both killed at the drop. Phillip had to make a run for it. He's okay, though." Lee repeated when he saw the look in Amanda's eyes. "He made it to a very public place and passed the disk he received off to a woman and told her to pass it off to Jackson. He hasn't come back in yet. I told Phillip to find out all he can about her."  
  
"Was she very young? He could be dragging her in to a whole lot of trouble."  
  
"From what I understand she was a chaperone to a seventh grade class trip," Lee informed her. "So she's probably older.probably a schoolteacher. Anyway, he's going to look up the school records and find out exactly who she is. I don't know, Amanda. I'm beginning to think I should pull him in." He looked over to see what she thought.  
  
She looked concerned but not overwhelmingly so, "I think that he can probably handle it. If he can't I'm sure he'll ask for help." Amanda smiled. "He may be our child, Lee, but he is a trained operative now. It's nice to see how much you care about him, though."  
  
"You know I couldn't care more about your two boys if they were my own. I just wish it was easier to separate myself from being Phillip's stepfather and his boss."  
  
"If Billy didn't think you could handle it he wouldn't have let Phillip stay in your unit," Amanda reminded him.  
  
"I know, I know. I just need to adjust. He's only been out on his own for eight months now."  
  
"Well, if it means anything, I think you're doing a great job."  
  
"It does. Thanks." Lee smiled and headed to her side. "I have such an objective wife, too." He placed his arm around her in a half hug and kissed the top of her head. "I'd better head down to Billy's office and let him know what's going on. I am interested to see what he says about all this. Phillip certainly seems to be following in my footsteps."  
  
Amanda looked confused, "What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, the last time I handed a package off to be delivered, some housewife kept it and I ended up marrying her."  
  
"Well, I certainly hope Phillip doesn't marry some old schoolmarm." Amanda stated indignantly.  
  
"Philip has pretty good taste. What if she isn't some old schoolmarm?" Lee winked and headed out the door.  
  
"Oh, my gosh." Amanda whispered softly as the door closed behind Lee.  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
"Did he have the disk?"  
  
"No. We allowed him to escape and followed him to the hotel where they are staying. It is in Cincinnati, called the Hilton."  
  
"Good. For once you listened to what I said." Gregory shifted through the papers in front of him. "What leads do you have on the location of the disk?"  
  
"None. We did not see King make contact with anyone. He was standing next to a woman at the terminal when we finally cornered him, but I do not know if they spoke."  
  
"Find the woman. She may be an agent as well. I'll speak to our contact and see what information that he has for us. What about Agent Jackson?"  
  
"He's been taken care of."  
  
"Call me when you've found the woman. I'll be waiting." Gregory found the information he was looking for on Phillip King. He looked at the picture of Casper's brother and studied it closely. He knew that Phillip was the link they needed to get the disk back and protect the identity of his contact. Only then could he be disposed of.  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
Meanwhile in Lakeside Park, Kentucky  
Madison was sitting on her balcony wondering what in the world she was going to do with the disk. She thought about the man who had given it to her.  
  
She recalled with uncanny clarity the color of his eyes. They were such a dark brown that they made her think of chocolate. He was, overall, a nice specimen, but who was he? He had given her that dumb disk then walked out of the theatre with a gun to his back.  
  
Madison stood and walked back into the house. Well, she was just going to see exactly what was on the disk. She had worried about it all day and it was going to stop. She wasn't going to let some chocolate-eyed stranger get to her.  
  
'I'll just peek at it and see what it is,' she rationalized. Madison turned on her computer and placed the disk into the drive.  
  
After a few minutes of finagling the computer finally opened the disk. 'There we go,' Madison thought with satisfaction.  
  
It looked to be a list of text files.nothing out of the ordinary. 'Maybe the guy gave me the wrong disk?'  
  
As soon as she had opened the first of the files the computer froze. "Oh, good grief!" She read what she could see on the screen then hit the customary Control+Alt+Del. She watched as the computer slowly shut down and went black. She hit the power button on the computer trying to start it up again but nothing would come up. Confused, she checked all the wires to make sure they were connected. They were.  
  
'Weird,' she thought. All of the sudden she had chills run down her spine. She then looked around with a feeling that she was somehow being watched. For her own sanity she went to check to make sure that the deadbolt was locked. As she leaned against the closed, locked door, Madison wondered again what in the world had made her take that disk.  
  
*------------------------------------* "Phillip?"  
  
"Yeah, it's me. I found out her name. Man, the lady that works in the office at that school is a real piece of work. It took me 20 minutes to convince her I wasn't some deviant trying to kidnap kids."  
  
"Oh, yeah," Jamie laughed, "She was immune to all your charm, huh?"  
  
"It's not funny. She was a real pain. Anyway, the girl's name is Madison Wright. Apparently she's the older sister of one of the students here. I have her address so I'm heading over there now."  
  
"Madison Wright," Jamie repeated, jotting it down on a piece of paper in front of him. "Okay, I'll run a file on her. What is the address?"  
  
Phillip looked down to the piece of paper in his hand, "780 Hollow View Circle."  
  
"Got it. Your check-in time?"  
  
"Well, it won't take me long to get there. It's right down the street. I should be able to get the disk and back to the hotel by around 6:00. If not I'll call you."  
  
"Okay, I'll give Lee a call and give him the update. Be careful, those guys know your face and could be following you."  
  
"Always. Later, little brother."  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
"We followed Phillip King to a school in Kentucky. He's leaving again. We think this may lead to the location of the girl."  
  
"Excellent." Gregory replied. "Continue to follow him. We can assume now that the girl has the disk."  
  
"Okay, we will continue to follow him. When should we check in again?"  
  
"Yes, when you have the disk. The woman must have taken it from him. Our contact says that no more men are being sent to help the King Brothers. So we shall continue as planned. Until we get the disk follow him. Once he has it, take him out.  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
Madison gathered her things to go to her sister's volleyball game. She wasn't going to let some stupid disk change her plans for the night. Unfortunately, she had yet to shake the feeling of being watched.  
  
'I am not going to come home to find those guys in my apartment.' She took a piece of tape from the roll in her kitchen drawer. After she locked the front door she took the tape and stuck it across the frame at the bottom of the door.  
  
'There,' she thought with satisfaction, 'now I'll at least be able to tell if someone's been here.' Feeling very proud of herself for the idea, Madison headed down the stairwell. No hired thugs were going to out-think her.  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
"She isn't here." Phillip informed his brother with a sigh, "I'm back to square one."  
  
"So what are you going to do?" Jamie asked anxiously. "I haven't even had a chance to run a file on her so I obviously have no ideas. You just gave me her name five minutes ago."  
  
"Yeah, I think I'll go back to that school and take a look around. Maybe I can find out something about her and her sister there."  
  
"Okay. Keep me posted. If I get anything good I'll page you."  
  
"Good. Talk to you in a few."  
  
Jamie hung up the phone and turned back to his computer. He'd been tracking this leak for over four months when he'd first realized that there was a hacker in the system reading all of their intra-agency files. Every time that there was an interruption in another mission it was, to him, a personal failure. A string of simple cases gone wrong had clued the Agency in that something was wrong. Jamie, who had earned the codename Casper for his computer abilities, had tracked the hacker through his own program without being detected. Unfortunately just before he was able to determine the exact source of the leak, he had been detected and his connection terminated. They had believed that the problems would stop since the hack had been terminated. However, there was evidence that someone was still getting information.  
  
Jamie started working on finding Madison Wright's information. The name sounded familiar but he couldn't place it. He connected to the Agency network but before he had a chance to enter anything his cell phone rang again. "Casper here."  
  
"Jamie. It's Lee."  
  
"Hi, I don't have much to give you. Phillip found out the girl's name and called me from her apartment. He is going to the school to see if he can find more information about her there. I was just getting ready to do a dossier on her. We have everything under control." Jamie turned around to the computer again.  
  
"Yes, Jamie. I realize that the two of you have it under control, but I think that you could use some help."  
  
Jamie plugged in the rest of the information into the computer and finally pulled up the file on Madison Wright.  
  
"Oh, my gosh! You are not going to believe this. Its fate," Jamie exclaimed. "Can you believe of all the people in Cincinnati Phillip picks Ghost's sister to give the disk to? I knew that her name sounded familiar. It's positively destiny!"  
  
"Ghost? Your friend Michael Wright? Where is he now?" Lee asked.  
  
"He's in Atlanta working out of Kimberly Clark."  
  
"Jaime, have you heard from Phillip since he called from her apartment?"  
  
"Lee, you are totally missing the irony of this situation. All I have to do to find her is call her brother. I'm sure that he can track her down."  
  
"Jaime, I asked you a question," Lee reminded him pointedly.  
  
"Sorry, but don't you find it interesting? Philip hasn't called in since he left her apartment. It really hasn't been fifteen minutes, though. I'll call him and let him know about Ghost. I'll call you back in a minute."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Jamie hung up and immediately called Phillip's cell but got no answer. He left a message, sent Phillip a page and then called his stepfather back.  
  
"I paged him and tried his phone but it's turned off for some reason." Jamie stated when Lee answered. "I was able to find out about Jackson but the news isn't good."  
  
Jaime heard Lee sigh through the line, "What have you got? Is he the leak?"  
  
"No, Lee, he was killed this afternoon. They found his body in a dumpster out behind the hotel. These people aren't very original, are they?"  
  
"All right, here's what I want you to do," Lee decided. "Call Ghost.see if he has any ideas where Phillip can find his sister. I don't want him to know more than he has to, understand? Then I want you to call me back. Your mother and I are on our way there. I don't trust anyone else at this point and you two are in over your heads."  
  
"Lee, we're fine," Jamie objected. "Phillip will get the disk from Madison and we'll be on our way back to D.C."  
  
"This isn't negotiable, Jamie. We're coming to Cincinnati."  
  
"Okay, but I think we can trust Ghost. He's the closest thing I have ever had to a partner. Besides Phillip, of course."  
  
"I think we can, too, but let's keep it all in the family for the moment."  
  
"All right, see you in a couple hours."  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
Washington, D.C.  
  
"We followed him to her house." Gill informed his boss.  
  
"Good, I want you to search her apartment. I don't think that the disk is there. She probably has it with her. Our source says that Scarecrow is on his way to Cincinnati. I'm on my way there. I have some things to take care of. Call me back if you find the disk." Gregory instructed.  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
Gregory hung up and headed toward the hallway outside his office. He was tired of the small deals. He wanted something bigger from his source. He had caught an agent stealing money from several different governments and, by god; he wanted some of the money. He was taking all the risk selling secrets to rogue governments and was not getting enough compensation. Gregory picked up the phone to call the object of his discontent.  
  
"Hello."  
  
"Stevens, I want more information. I want an arms shipment. Specialty arms."  
  
"By God, Gregory!" Stevens whispered desperately into the phone. "I told you never to call me here. You'll blow my cover."  
  
"If it's a big enough deal I'll leave you alone and destroy the evidence I have on you."  
  
"I don't have access to that kind of information," Stevens complained.  
  
"I have intelligence information that says you do have access. In fact they say that you are tracking arms right now." He paused before going on, "By the way, your friends have lost the disk. I have Kashmir and Gill waiting to dispose of them once they find it. If you have any more information you'll call me, yes?"  
  
Stevens turned pale, "You found Casper? How?"  
  
"His brother led us straight to him, just as you said he probably would. They're holed up in a hotel in downtown Cincinnati." Gregory paused to pick up his car keys. "I'm on my way. You'd better have the arms information by the time I get there."  
  
"I will see what I can do," Stevens sighed in resignation.  
  
"You'd better, or I'll drop a little package in the mail. You'll find out first hand what the countries of the world do to international thieves."  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
Meanwhile in Elsmere, Kentucky  
  
"Good serve, Whitney!" Madison cheered her sister's team on. She sat in the bleachers with the other girls' parents. Her own parents couldn't make the game so Madison shouted her advice from the sidelines.  
  
"Mindy's doing really well this year." Corine, one of the other girl's parents', told her as they sat down for a time out. "She seems more comfortable on the court than last year."  
  
"I think so. She isn't as timid as before." Madison turned to Corine and smiled. "I think camp did her.." That was when she saw him again. Chocolate eyes was searching the gym for her. ".good. Um, Corine, I'll be right back. I have to go talk to someone."  
  
Madison headed over to the entrance where "the guy" was watching her approach. He'd changed his clothes. He no longer had on the suit but instead a pair of washed out jeans and a t-shirt. When she reached him he grabbed her arm and pulled her outside.  
  
"Excuse me! Just what do you think you are doing?" Madison exclaimed as she jerked her arm out of his grasp.  
  
"I'm taking you outside where we can have this conversation in private, Madison," he whispered, glancing around surreptitiously.  
  
"How do you know my name?!" She demanded warily. "I didn't tell you what it was."  
  
"I have my ways. Now..."  
  
"What ways?" Madison interrupted. "Who are you? And how did you find me?"  
  
"That doesn't matter. I've wasted the entire afternoon trying to track you down," he hissed furiously, grabbing her by the arm again and hustling her outside. "Why? Because you couldn't follow simple instructions. You didn't give the disk to the man in the theatre, did you? Oh, no! You took it home with you. Then you proceeded to LEAVE your humble abode to go to a VOLLEYBALL GAME!"  
  
"Why are you shouting at me?" Madison asked indignantly. "I took your stupid disk into the theatre but there were at least six or seven people in there with Bengal's shirts on! There's actually a hope that the Bengal's will have a good season and people are actually supporting the team, you know?! Therefore, I didn't know which of them was the man to whom I was supposed to deliver the sacred disk!" She continued furiously, pulling away from him again. "None of them jumped up and said "It's me, it's me!" So I kept the stupid thing and proceeded to continue life as I know it -- which included coming to a volleyball game!" She paused and took a deep, calming, breath. "Now, who are you?"  
  
"My name is Phillip. I work for the government..."  
  
"What are you -- some kind of spy?" Madison interrupted with a chuckle. "Some spy! It's taken you since this morning to track me down! And you gave some secret disk to me! Good grief, no wonder our government has so many problems."  
  
"I wouldn't have had so many problems today if you given the disk away when you were supposed to," he snapped icily. "I also spent part of my morning trying to get away from two thugs bent on reading me my last rights."  
  
"I did notice the bruise on your cheek," she admitted in a quiet voice, reaching up to touch his cheek gently. "Does it hurt very much?"  
  
"It doesn't tickle; there are other places that hurt worse. Can we please just go get the disk now and I'll let you be on your merry way?" Phillip turned toward his car.  
  
"Um, that isn't going to be as easy as it sounds." Madison started hesitantly. "I sort of had a problem with it." She flinched at his expression when he turned around.  
  
"A problem?" Phillip asked in a voice so low she had to strain to hear him.  
  
"I tried to read what was on it and it sort of created a meltdown on my computer. I couldn't get it back out."  
  
"Great! Just Great! Not only does she keep the disk, she ruins it!" He muttered, starting to pace back and forth furiously. "Good Lord! I know I'm in hell!"  
  
"Look, maybe it was just my computer," she explained hastily. "Someone may be able to fix it and get the disk out. I just can't."  
  
Phillip stopped and stared at her thoughtfully for a minute. "Maybe. Let's go get your computer. I have just the computer guru in mind."  
  
Madison shook her head "I can't leave. There's still another game left in the match and then I have to take my sister home. My parents aren't here."  
  
"You're kidding, right?! Have one of the other parents take her. This is important, Madison."  
  
"Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Spy, but I have to stay!" She folded her arms across her chest defiantly and glared at him. "It'll only be fifteen or twenty minutes. Surely you can wait that long." With that she spun on her heel and marched purposefully back into the building.  
  
"Of all the annoying females in that theatre I picked her!" Phillip muttered to himself in disgust. After watching her for a few seconds he followed her into the gym.  
  
Madison climbed the bleachers to sit back down next to Corine, but before she could sit she heard that sardonic voice from behind her, "Move over."  
  
"Good grief," she whispered to him, "you could have waited outside instead of making a scene." She looked around at the other parents with a timid smile.  
  
"What scene? I'm coming in to watch the game," he explained logically, giving her a small smile. "Why? Don't you ever bring your boyfriend to come watch your sister play?"  
  
"I don't have a boyfriend," she answered archly, "and if I did it certainly wouldn't be anyone like you. Besides, you make me nervous sitting here and I will eventually have to explain your presence. I coach all of these girls in basketball, so their parents naturally want to know who I'm associating with."  
  
"Tell them I'm a cousin," he suggested as he glanced at his watch impatiently, fully conscious of every minute passing by. "I just hope this game doesn't last too long."  
  
"You're being awfully reasonable about staying." She looked at him with suspicion. "Why?"  
  
"Because you were right," he conceded. "Fifteen minutes more isn't going to make that big a difference." He grinned. "Besides, it's fun giving you a hard time."  
  
"Lovely." Madison turned her attention to the game.  
  
Phillip studied her profile as she cheered for her sister's team. 'It really doesn't matter if we take a few minutes more here' he rationalized, trying to convince himself that he had no choice in the matter. He knew he could drag her out of here if he wanted to, or even guilt her into leaving right away but he didn't. He liked her, despite the fact that all they had done was fight since he walked into the gym.  
  
He puzzled at what it was that he liked about her. She wasn't the type he was normally attracted to. First of all she was a brunette. He usually went for the petite blondes. Madison was far from petite, though. At 6'0 he wasn't used to a woman being able to stare straight into his eyes...well, except for his mother. 'She is a spitfire, though,' he conceded with a smile.  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
"I've searched her apartment and there's no disk here. In fact I can't even find her computer. Kasmir followed King when he left here." Gill told him.  
  
Gregory looked around the airport gate to see if anyone was listening to his conversation. "All right, meet Kasmir and find out where the two of them have gone. I should be there in about two hours. We will have to find the disk quickly. Our source is going to give us something big to sell, and then we can leave this cursed country."  
  
"Yes, sir. We'll contact you when we have found it."  
  
*------------------------------------*  
Back at the Hotel  
  
"Casper, is that you?" Jamie heard the surprise in his friend's voice.  
  
"Yeah, it's me. Long time no talk."  
  
"Definitely," Michael replied. "So, how are you? Anything exciting going on?"  
  
"Well," Jamie paused to decide how to broach the subject with his friend. "Phillip had a run in with your sister today and we're trying to find her. Any ideas where she might be?"  
  
"My sister? Mindy?" Michael sounded confused.  
  
"No, Madison."  
  
"Oh," Michael hesitated, "What does he need to find her for?"  
  
"Well, I was hoping you'd just trust me for the moment and tell me if you can find her for us." Jamie waited as the silence on the other end lengthened. "I promise that nothing's going to happen to her. She may be in some trouble, though, if we don't find her."  
  
"Why would my sister be in trouble? She works for my dad and coach's sixth graders. She never leaves Cincinnati, so how could Phillip have had a "run in" with her?" Ghost demanded suspiciously.  
  
"We're in Cincinnati. He met her at the Omnimax. You know I can't tell you anything else. Will you help us find her?"  
  
After a brief moment Ghost reluctantly agreed, "All right. Let me try her cell. Call me back in three minutes."  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
At the Gym  
  
"Your little backpack's ringing." Phillip nudged Madison with his elbow.  
  
"Oh," Madison reached inside to answer the phone. "Hello?"  
  
"Hey, Maddie, it's Michael. Where are you?"  
  
"Hey, little brother. I'm at Mindy's volleyball game. Mom wasn't feeling well so I brought her and Dad stayed at home. Why? What are you up to?"  
  
Michael sighed, "A better question is what are you up to?"  
  
Madison shook her head in confusion. "I just told you. Why do you ask?"  
  
"I just got a call from a friend who'd seen you at the Omnimax today," Michael explained. "He was trying to find you and I was wondering why."  
  
Madison looked over at Phillip, who was listening to her conversation intently. "What do you mean a friend?" Madison dropped her voice and turned her head so that Phillip couldn't hear her. "How do you know him? Besides, how could he have called you? He's been sitting here next to me for at least ten minutes."  
  
"Who's there with you? Phillip?" Michael asked, getting more confused by the minute.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Let me talk to him."  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
"Please just do it."  
  
Madison shrugged, "All right, but you'd better explain what you're doing involved in all this!" She turned and held the phone out to Phillip. "My brother wants to talk to you."  
  
It was at that point that Madison noticed all the parents looking at Phillip and her with interested expressions on their faces. She gave them a sick smile and couldn't wait until this game was over.  
  
"Yeah." Phillip answered the phone warily. He had no idea who this guy was or why he wanted to talk to him.  
  
"Phillip, this is Ghost. What are you doing with my sister? I want answers now."  
  
Phillip looked over at Madison in shock. "Michael Wright is your brother??"  
  
Madison looked around again, and then leaned toward Phillip to whisper, "Yes. How was I supposed to know you two were buddies?! I haven't ever heard of you before."  
  
"Phillip!" Michael shouted into the phone to get Phillip's attention back.  
  
"Look, Michael," Phillip hedged, not knowing how to answer Ghost's question just yet. "We're about to leave here. We'll call you back when we get somewhere a little less noisy. Bye." He hung up the phone.  
  
"You just hung up on my brother!" Madison exclaimed in disbelief. "What's going on?!"  
  
"I'll tell you what you need to know when we get back to your apartment." Phillip explained with forced patience, glancing up and taking in their surroundings. "The game's over. Go grab your sister. We need to start moving."  
  
"Okay." Madison agreed reluctantly. She said her goodbyes to the parents in the stands and headed over to find Mindy. "We've got to hurry up, okay?" She told Mindy as she started shoving her kneepads and water bottle into the gym bag.  
  
"Why?" Mindy asked as she looked beyond her sister to where Phillip was standing. "Who's he?"  
  
Madison looked back over her shoulder. "A friend of Michael's." She handed the bag to Mindy. "Let's go."  
  
Madison turned to Phillip as they reached her car. "I'll meet you back at my apartment after I drop her off."  
  
"No, I'll follow you to your parents and you can leave your car there." He countered, dropping his voice. "It's safer that way."  
  
"Fine."  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
"I lost him, Gill. He must have spotted the tail somehow," Kasmir admitted unhappily, "Do we have to tell Gregory?"  
  
Gill cursed. "Just come and get me. Gregory's on a plane on his way here so we won't have to tell him yet. We'll go back to the hotel. He'll eventually return there with the girl and the disk."  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
"Phillip? Why didn't you have your cell on?" Jamie queried anxiously.  
  
"Sorry, I didn't know it was off. I left my pager in the car." Phillip followed Madison down the suburban streets. "I found Madison. Did you know your Ghost friend was her brother?"  
  
"I figured it out after your last check in. I called him to get a lead on where she might be. He told me that he talked to you. I promised that we'd call him and explain when you two got back here with the disk. Mom and Lee are on their way, Phillip. They think that they need to be here to help."  
  
"Great," Phillip groaned as he rolled his eyes. This day was just getting worse by the minute. "I'm taking Madison to her apartment. We'll get her computer and head to hotel."  
  
"All we need is the disk," Jamie reminded him. "Doesn't she have it on her?"  
  
"No. She says she tried to look at it and it shut down her computer. She couldn't get it out. Start racking your brain, Casper; it's time to live up to your guru reputation. It shouldn't take us more than twenty minutes to get there."  
  
"That's what you said last time," Jamie complained.  
  
"Later." Phillip hung up the cell phone as they pulled to a stop in front of a small house. He waited while Madison locked up her car and ushered her sister inside.  
  
Madison glanced back at the front of her parents' house once before she got into Phillip's car. She had the strangest feeling that her whole world was about to change. As she sat down in the passenger seat she looked over at Phillip. 'And it is all his fault' she thought ruefully.  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
The ride to her apartment had so far been a silent one. She was still confused about what was going on. She knew that the disk was probably important since Phillip had gone to so much trouble to get it back. Madison wondered how her brother knew Phillip and how Phillip knew him, for that matter. It did make her a little more comfortable with him -- not that he'd really been frightening to begin with. Madison smiled, 'He would like to think he was scary, though.' She looked over at Phillip, "So, are you going to explain how you know my brother?"  
  
"No," Phillip answered shortly as he looked over at her, "I think he should tell you."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I just do."  
  
Madison sighed, "Okay." They had pulled into the complex. Phillip led the way up the stairs, "Why am I not surprised that you know exactly where to go?"  
  
Phillip turned his head a bit to look down at her. "Because you're clever enough to know I've already been here."  
  
Madison smiled and looked up the stairs at her door. "Phillip, wait," Madison looked down to where she had placed the tape, "Did you go inside when you were here before?"  
  
"No, you weren't here so I came to find you." He stared at her as she reached the top of the stairs right behind him. "Why?"  
  
Madison moved away from the door and whispered, "Then someone else has."  
  
Phillip was confused. "How do you know that?"  
  
She pointed down to the piece of tape in the bottom left hand corner of the door. It had been broken in half. "I saw it in a movie once." She admitted softly.  
  
Phillip pulled her behind him and took his gun out from behind his back.  
  
"How come I didn't know you had that?" Madison whispered in amazement.  
  
"Because there was no reason to show it to you." Phillip reached for the door handle. "Stay right here. don't move till I come to get you."  
  
"Okay, be careful."  
  
Phillip quickly opened the door and headed inside gun first. Madison put her back against the wall and waited. The seconds ticked by. She was scared but wanted to see what was going on. So far there was no noise coming from the inside. She slowly moved into the apartment.  
  
Madison looked to the left into the kitchen and dining room. The kitchen cabinets were open and broken dishes littered the floor but Phillip wasn't there. She moved on and looked around the corner into the living room. It was completely torn apart. The cushions on the sofa had been slashed and her cd's tossed to the floor. There was no one there, either. Madison turned to her right and headed down the hall. As she was about to pass the bathroom, Phillip grabbed her.  
  
"I thought I told you to stay outside till I came to get you." He snapped angrily. "Don't you ever follow instructions?!"  
  
"I didn't hear anything," she explained in a hurt voice. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."  
  
"You had best learn to listen to what I tell you," Phillip hissed furiously. "This is dangerous work, Madison. Look at your apartment! These guys would do this to you if they could find you." He took a deep breath and glanced around, reholstering his gun. "It looks like we're too late."  
  
"No, we're not," she smiled.  
  
"What are you talking about? Your computer's gone."  
  
"It's not gone. I hid it."  
  
He looked at her in surprise. "What made you do that?"  
  
"Well, those guys that were following you this morning looked scary. I didn't want them to find it. That's also why I put the tape on the door." She led him into the computer room. "I hid it up there." She pointed up to a small opening in the top of the closet.  
  
"What is it?" He asked as he got her desk chair to climb up to the opening. He pushed up on the piece of wood.  
  
"It's access to my ventilation system, I think. There's a space up there to the right. That's where the computer is."  
  
Phillip grinned as he followed her instructions and made contact with the box of the computer. "I knew you were a good choice when I picked you this morning." He dragged it out of the hole and stepped down from the chair. "Let's get out of here. I don't want them to find us if they come back."  
  
Phillip led the way back out of the apartment and down to the car. He watched carefully for anyone following them or looking for them. Madison silently followed and got into the car. As they headed back out of the complex Phillip turned to Madison, "That was pretty smart thinking. I am sorry they trashed your apartment."  
  
Madison scoffed, "I'm just glad I wasn't there for them to trash me."  
  
Phillip was too. He headed toward downtown.  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
"Casper, I don't know what's going on there, but I want to know how my sister is involved."  
  
"I can't tell you much, Ghost. Today Phillip went to what was supposed to be a simple drop. When he got there two men tried to abduct him. They killed two agents then and Kent Jackson later on outside this hotel later. Phillip was supposed to give the disk to Jackson. Instead of compromising Jackson he passed the information on through your sister. Unfortunately she didn't know who to give the disk to and kept it. That's why Phillip was looking for her."  
  
"So, you are telling me that my sister is being chased by two thugs." Michael summed up succinctly as he looked around his room. "I think I better come up there."  
  
"No, everything is fine. Madison's with Phillip. He won't let anything happen to her. They're on their way to get the disk and then they're coming here. We'll keep you informed."  
  
"I want to talk to her. I'm going to have to explain how I know the both of you. Not to mention the fact that I hate the fact that she's involved with anything related to the Agency."  
  
"I understand. As soon as she and Phillip arrive I'll call you back." Jamie felt sorry for his friend. Michael had worked very hard to keep his family from knowing he had any association with government work. Now Madison had inadvertently stumbled upon the truth even though she didn't understand at this point. "I am sorry, Michael, Phillip really didn't have any idea she was your sister."  
  
"I know he didn't," Michael sighed. "Just call me back."  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
"I don't understand why we have to go up twenty floors in the elevator to walk up five more." Madison complained as the finally reached the landing of the twenty-fifth floor of the hotel.  
  
"If you were an assassin watching to see where we got off the elevator you wouldn't know where to find us because we didn't stay on the floor we stopped on. Hence, the walk up the stairs. Come on." He held open the door with his hip as he had the computer in his hands.  
  
Madison slid past into the corridor.  
  
"Third door down on the left," Phillip instructed, shifting the box to a more comfortable position.  
  
Madison walked down to the door he had indicated and waited for him to catch up. He had stopped and listened at the stairwell to see if he could hear anyone coming. When he finally reached her he told her to knock twice pause and knock again. She did and seconds later the door was opened.  
  
Jamie ushered them both in. Madison could see the family resemblance right away. They both had the same chocolate colored eyes but Jamie's glasses were somewhat hiding his. They were both tall.Phillip was just a couple of inches taller than his brother. Jamie was just a little less muscular than Phillip. Overall, though, Jamie was nearly as good looking as his older brother. Madison headed over toward the large expanse of windows in the living room area of the suite.  
  
"I'm glad you two finally made it." Jamie stated sardonically as reached for the computer box in Phillip's arms. "Let me see the patient. "While I open it up you tell me exactly what happened, Madison. Step by step. That will help me figure out what to do now."  
  
Phillip walked back to the door and looked through the peephole to make sure he hadn't been followed. He locked the door and leaned back gently against it.  
  
Madison walked over to Jamie and watched exactly what he was doing. "Well, I put the disk in."  
  
Phillip sighed and headed over toward the windows Madison had left. It was a good thing they had waited at that volleyball game. He didn't want to think of what could have happened if Madison would have had been alone at her apartment when those goons had shown up there -- or even what would have happened if the two of them had walked in on the search of her apartment. He didn't like having her involved and he knew her brother wasn't going to like that she was going to have to stay with them till they finished the case.  
  
"Wait," Phillip interrupted Madison's description of what happened to her computer. "You read part of the file before it froze? You didn't tell me that."  
  
Madison turned her head, "You never asked." She returned her gaze to what Jamie was doing and continued her story.  
  
Phillip flopped down onto the sofa with a huff and waited for them to finish.  
  
"So then I hid the computer and left. I didn't get to read a whole lot of it before it froze.only what was on the first page." She turned back to where Phillip was sprawled out on the sofa. "It really didn't say much."  
  
"Well," Jamie had extracted the disk, "At least this is out. I may have to put in a new disk drive for you though. I sort of mangled it." He glanced over at Phillip and then looked up at Madison. "Judging from the sound of what happened when you put in the disk, it's a Phantom design."  
  
"Oh, great!" Phillip muttered in disgust.  
  
Madison looked from one to the other as she sat down next to Phillip. "Are you two going to explain what's going on? Who's Phantom? And shouldn't we call my brother and explain to him as well?"  
  
Phillip and Jamie exchanged a glance. They had best call Ghost before they started explaining anything because now they knew the entire Spirit Council was involved. They didn't know what Phantom's connection to the leak was, but at least they figured that Ghost was not a safety concern.  
  
"Yes, let's call your brother." Jamie agreed. He went over to the telephone, dialed a number and put it on the speaker so that they all could be part of the conversation.  
  
"Ghost here." Michael answered.  
  
"It's Casper. We're on the speaker phone."  
  
"I figured," Michael sighed unhappily. "Is Maddie there? I suppose she wants an explanation."  
  
"Yes, I'm here." Madison chimed in. "I'm waiting to find out just what's going on."  
  
"Jamie, you start," Ghost finally said. "You were the first recruit."  
  
"Well," Jamie sat down in the chair next to Madison. "Four years ago the Agency decided to start a group to infiltrate the computers of major countries around the world. I had been a computer hacker as a hobby since basically the conception. Ever seen War Games?"  
  
Madison nodded.  
  
"Well, that was the kind of stuff I got a kick out of." He looked up, "Not that I was into starting wars or anything. I just liked to see how far I could go.push the limit. So when the Agency found out about my little hobby they recruited me to be the first of the Spirit Council. It was there idea that they would get three people to work together to gather information from foreign governments without getting caught. The head of the Agency wanted to be the lead in finding information on terrorist activities and arms dealings. He has high political aspirations and the Spirit Council was his idea of how to deal with foreign policy. They started with me then recruited your brother and a man named Christopher Stevens. We all had a special ability with computers. They gave us each a codename: Casper, Ghost and Phantom and we were all sent to a training facility in Podunk, Kentucky."  
  
Madison smiled, "Owensboro."  
  
At that Michael felt it was time for him to start his part of the story. "Yes, Owensboro. We trained for five months, both in computer hacking, which we all knew more than the teachers, and in combat agent training. You see, each of us had a specific part of the missions to complete. The head of the Agency, wanted to be the lead in finding information on terrorist activities and arms dealings. He has high political aspirations. I was trained to go into the facilities and give Jamie whatever information he needed on the facilities computer networking. I would plant different un-detectable devices that would allow him access to any information he needed. Then Jamie was to climb around inside their computer network and find the best stream of information to give Phantom access to it. Phantom's job was to collect the information and find a way to protect it. We were very successful. We started with embassies in America and worked our way up to other foreign government facilities."  
  
"So you mean to tell me you have been a spy since you started college?" Madison shook her head in disbelief. "I don't believe this!"  
  
"I wish you weren't involved, Maddie. Unfortunately, Phillip picked you at the Omnimax today and somehow I got involved. Suppose I had been captured on one of my missions? If they found out who I was that would put everyone in the family in danger. I couldn't allow that to happen."  
  
"I guess I understand." Madison looked over to Jamie again. "So how does Christopher Stevens play a part in all this? You said the disk was a Phantom."  
  
"I don't know. I need to look at the disk." Jamie admitted. "It's sort of strange that the disk with vital information to our leak is on a disk made by Phantom."  
  
"Your leak?" Michael spoke up sharply. "You mean to tell me that is the disk Madison has been carrying around? Jamie, she isn't safe if any one saw her with it."  
  
"I know that," Phillip spoke up. "They trashed her apartment looking for it. They know she's involved. She'll stay with me until we figure this thing out."  
  
Madison looked at him in surprise.  
  
"I'm on my way up there." Michael said determinedly. "You don't have enough field experience to protect her Phillip. I do."  
  
"I went through more training than you did, Ghost, and I can protect her just fine," Phillip growled. "She isn't leaving this hotel room. You don't need field experience to keep someone out of a hotel room, so I won't have to do much protecting anyway."  
  
Michael was silent for a while. Finally he asked, "Jamie, didn't you say your mom and Lee were on the way?"  
  
"Yes, they are."  
  
"Okay, I trust Lee. He's been doing this longer than I've been alive. When do they get there?"  
  
"They should be here any minute," Phillip groaned.  
  
"Okay, let me know if there is anything I can do from here," Michael stated. "Hey, Maddie?"  
  
"Yes," she answered reluctantly.  
  
"Be careful, okay? This is a tough game that you shouldn't be playing." He sighed. "And don't tell mom and dad about what I do. They wouldn't understand."  
  
"Your secret's safe with me. I should be telling you to be careful."  
  
"Always. Jamie, you will keep me posted."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Okay, I'm off to work then. Good luck."  
  
"Bye, little brother." Maddie said quickly.  
  
"Later, sis, and don't worry. Everything will be just fine." After he hung up Madison sat on the sofa absorbing what she'd just learned. Jamie and Phillip returned to inspecting the disk. She was shocked that she hadn't known anything about her brother's involvement with the spy business. They'd always been very close.at least she'd thought they were. She had noticed him pulling away slightly since he'd started college but had attributed it to him just growing up. Now she knew the truth.  
  
"So," Phillip sat down in a chair next to his brother's computer, "How exactly do we pull the information off this disc?"  
  
"I'll worry about that. What you can do is pull out my other laptop and connect to the agency's network... see what you can find out about what Phantom's been doing for the past four months." As Phillip headed to the first bedroom to retrieve the computer, Jamie inserted the disk and did a little fast finger work. Madison watched him work as she moved from her perch across the room. Soon a log-in screen popped up.  
  
"It didn't do that for me," she complained. "It just pulled up the list of files."  
  
"You didn't tell it to," Jamie half turned his head. "Why don't you help Phillip? He isn't very fond of computers. He doesn't even own one of his own."  
  
Madison smiled at him and agreed. She knew he was trying to get rid of her and Phillip so that he could concentrate. She stood in the doorway of the bedroom and watched as Phillip struggled with the computer. He'd pulled it out of the case and had a half dozen wires in his hand. He was trying to figure out which one was the correct wire.  
  
"Would you like some help?" Madison asked, leaning against the doorframe.  
  
"I guess." He muttered. "I hate these things."  
  
Madison grinned as she crossed the room. "Why do you hate them? Didn't you have to use them at school?" She sat down on the edge of the bed and reached for the laptop.  
  
He handed it over to her. "Yes, but not because I liked it. Computers were always Jamie's thing. I just never got into using them."  
  
She connected the laptop to the phone line and turned it on. "I assume that you connect to the Agency through a modem, correct?"  
  
"Yes," he moved onto the bed next to her. "I can do this, you know."  
  
"I'm sure you can, it's just fun to give you a hard time." She grinned and handed the laptop back to him. "So, what exactly are we trying to find out?"  
  
"Well, only three people know how to use a Phantom disk. Jamie, Michael and Christopher Stevens. We know that your brother isn't involved in the leak and neither is Jamie. Which leaves us with Chris involved in whatever is going on. I need to find out where he's been since the leak was detected. If he isn't the leak, then he knows something about it because he would have had to teach them how to use the disk."  
  
"How do we even know that the disk is involved with your leak?" Madison asked pointedly as she watched Phillip flip his fingers over the keys. For someone who didn't like computers he seemed to move quickly on them.  
  
"The disk was recovered from an assignment gone bad. We were notified about its existence and were going through a series of drops so that it wouldn't be detected. Unfortunately, those thugs that you saw chasing me this morning were sent to stop the disk from getting to the Agency. Or more specifically, to Jamie."  
  
Madison nodded, digesting this information and watched as the information on Stevens started scrolling past them on the screen.  
  
"We need to find out what he's been doing so we can figure out if he has had access to the information being blown," Phillip continued. "The last meeting botched was right here in Cincinnati. That's where this disk was found."  
  
"Okay."  
  
They both started reading and Madison leaned closer to Phillip to read over his shoulder. Phillip shifted the computer partially onto her lap so they could both see the screen.  
  
They started reading through the background information. Or at least Phillip was trying to read through it, she was distracting him. She was so close he could smell of strawberry scent of her shampoo. 'Focus, Phillip!' He chided himself sternly.  
  
Little did he know that Madison was having the same problem.  
  
"See anything?" Phillip asked as he turned toward her.  
  
"No," she admitted reluctantly, turning to face him. Their faces were inches apart, "I, um, honestly don't know what I'm looking for."  
  
Phillip decided that just one little kiss wasn't going to matter. He started to lean towards her when the phone rang.  
  
They both jumped. Phillip reached around to his pocket to retrieve his cell phone. "Yes."  
  
"Phillip, it's Lee. We're on our way from the airport. We should be there in about ten minutes or so."  
  
Madison watched as Phillip went back to being all business. She moved over to the window while he spoke. "We have the disk and Jamie's working on it. Here's the interesting part. It's a Phantom design. Madison and I are looking through the files on Stevens to figure out what he's been doing the past few months."  
  
"Good. Any problems?"  
  
"Well, Madison's apartment was trashed. She'd hidden the computer and the disk so we were able to retrieve it." Phillip looked over at her. "Otherwise we haven't had any problems since this morning."  
  
"Okay, your mother wants to talk to you." Phillip waited while Lee handed the phone over to Amanda.  
  
"Phillip? Are you okay?" She asked, concerned.  
  
"Yes, mom, I'm fine," Phillip sighed. "You two really didn't have to come here to help us."  
  
"Lee thought it was necessary. He doesn't want anyone else involved until we figure out what's going on."  
  
"I know. We think it may be Phantom, though we aren't sure. Maybe you'll have some ideas when you get here."  
  
"Maybe," she agreed. "We'll figure something out, sweetheart. Bye."  
  
"All right and mom? Those guys could have been downstairs at this hotel; we didn't see them but take precautions, anyway."  
  
"Will do. Bye"  
  
Madison turned around. "So your parents are spies too?"  
  
"Yes, my mother and my stepfather." He got to his feet and walked to her side. "I really am sorry about what almost happened there.before the phone rang, I mean."  
  
"I'm not." Madison smiled and sat back down in the chair next to the desk. "I'm just sorry we were interrupted. I'll look through this stuff; maybe you can help your brother." She pulled the computer off the bed and sat it in front of her.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yeah, go on." She dismissed him with a wave of her hand into the other room and turned to study the files in front of her.  
  
Phillip wandered back to the living room and walked over to where Jamie was working. He watched as the files flew up on the screen. "So what are they? The files, I mean."  
  
Jamie turned to him with a grin. "She booted you off the computer, huh?"  
  
"I left voluntarily," Phillip corrected, folding his arms across his chest.  
  
"Yeah, right," Jamie laughed. "I'm not sure what these files are, yet. I'm running decryption software on them. They look like some kind of lists hidden underneath children's stories. It shouldn't take much longer. I had to figure out what program was used to hide them first." They watched as the program ran through the files.  
  
"Mom and Lee just called," Phillip told him. "They should be here any minute."  
  
"Good. There we go," Jamie said in satisfaction as he opened the file uncovered by the decryption software.  
  
"It looks like bank account information." Phillip observed when the file opened.  
  
"Yes," Jamie agreed absently as he started scrolling down. "I think it is. Let's check some of these out.see what they are." He typed for a few seconds and a screen popped up. "This is a Thai account in Christopher's name." He turned around to look at Phillip in a mixture of amazement and disbelief. "It has over two hundred thousand dollars in it."  
  
"He was embezzling? From who? It couldn't be the Agency because you would have caught it."  
  
"I don't know," Jamie admitted. "Let me track a few more of these accounts."  
  
"Okay," Phillip flopped down onto the sofa, feeling somewhat useless. He watched Jamie type from across the room.  
  
"I found it." Madison announced triumphantly as she walked back in from the bedroom.  
  
"Found what?" Phillip asked.  
  
"The reason that the disk was found here. Stevens is undercover at the Coca-Cola distribution center off Ridge. He's like five minutes down the road."  
  
"I didn't know that," Jamie remarked without turning his head.  
  
"What's he doing?" Madison asked Phillip quietly.  
  
"Investigate bank accounts. One of the many joys my brother finds in the computer."  
  
"I heard that," Jamie interjected in a loud voice.  
  
Madison chuckled. "Anyway, the file says that Stevens was supposed to ferret out a smuggler who was using the Coca-Cola trucks to transport gun parts. The Agency followed the money trail from the guerilla fighters in Columbia to the distribution center here. He's been here for almost five months. Apparently he hasn't given them much information concerning the smuggling since a month ago. They're considering pulling him back out. Hey, Jamie?" She waited for him to turn his attention to her.  
  
"Yes?" He turned around a bit to see her.  
  
"I noticed that both you and Michael were transferred to your stepfather's department after the Spirit Council was dissolved," Madison queried. "Why wasn't Stevens?"  
  
Jamie's explanation was interrupted by a knock at the door followed shortly by two more knocks. "Here's someone who can tell you exactly why."  
  
Phillip went to the door and opened it for his parents.  
  
As they entered Madison was struck at how young they looked. Lee Stetson was tall -- even taller than Phillip, and his wife was nearly as tall as her oldest son. Amanda was wearing an elegant navy blue dress suit that was tailored so that Madison could tell she was fit. Lee, too, had on a suit that emphasized his broad shoulders. What surprised her the most is that they were holding hands.  
  
"Well, aren't you going to introduce us?" Amanda prompted everyone, leaving Lee's side and walking toward Madison.  
  
"Sure I was, mom." Phillip answered quickly, moving over to stand next to Madison. "Mom, meet Madison Wright. Madison, this is my mother, Amanda Stetson. That guy over there's my boss," Phillip thumbed in Lee's direction, "and my stepfather."  
  
Amanda reached out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Madison. I'm sorry it isn't under better circumstances." Amanda led Madison over to the sofa to sit down.  
  
"Yes, nice to meet you." Lee said distractedly as he moved toward Jamie. "What have you found out from the disk?"  
  
As Jamie explained the contents of the disk Phillip sat down on the other side of Madison on the sofa.  
  
"So, you haven't been too inconvenienced today because of Phillip's little problem, have you?" Amanda asked gently.  
  
Madison smiled as she turned on the sofa so she had her back to Phillip, "No, it hasn't been too bad."  
  
Phillip grunted behind her.  
  
"Phillip can be a bit bullheaded sometimes. I think he picked it up from Lee," Amanda confessed with a laugh. She turned her attention to Jamie and Lee. "So, do we have a lead?"  
  
"Stevens was embezzling money." Lee said in disgust. "He took his job as a collector too literally and start collecting cash."  
  
"Jamie, are you sure Phantom was the one stealing the money?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Yeah, the bank accounts are all in his name. The only strange thing is that none of them have been touched at all. According to the information on the disk, he filtered the money from about eighteen different governments into over fifty accounts in various parts of the world. The sum of them is large, but there hasn't been once cent taken from them."  
  
"Guilty conscience?" Amanda ventured thoughtfully.  
  
"More likely fear. He was afraid to spend any of it because then people would wonder where it came from." Lee replied decidedly.  
  
Madison watched silently as the four of them discussed the money and the connection to Stevens. She waited until there was a pause and then asked, "How does the stolen money connect to all the botched Agency missions? Do you all think that he's trying to hurt the Agency for some reason?"  
  
They all turned to her and Madison felt her face turned a little red with all the attention.  
  
"That, Madison, is a very good question." Lee smiled at her. "Only one person can give us that answer. Do we know where Stevens is?"  
  
"Yes," Madison spoke up again, "He's working undercover at Coca-Cola just a few miles down the road. He was supposed to be finding a gun smuggler." She smiled at the bemused expressions on both Lee and Amanda's faces. "I was helping Phillip with the computer."  
  
Lee turned to Phillip as if looking for an explanation.  
  
Phillip just smiled and shrugged.  
  
"Okay," Amanda stated decisively. "It's after 7:00, so I'm going to guess he's home by now. Were you able to find out where he's living while he's here?" She directed her question at Phillip  
  
"He's staying in an apartment in Mt. Adams," Madison answered quickly. "I wrote it down. I'll go get it." Madison headed into the bedroom, unaware of the stares watching her go.  
  
Lee turned to Phillip again, "She seemed to know what she was doing, so I let her search through the file."  
  
"Need to know basis, Phillip. Need to know basis." Lee muttered, starting to pace as he formulated a plan. "We can check both places with four of us to look."  
  
"Five," Madison corrected as she walked back into the room. "If you think I'm staying here by myself you're crazy." She looked pointedly at Phillip. "Besides, you told my brother that I was going to be with you until this was finished."  
  
"And he didn't agree to stay down there until I said you weren't leaving this room and he was told Lee was on his way." Phillip reminded her icily as he snatched the paper from her. "You're staying here. You are not going anywhere."  
  
"I am not staying here," Madison protested. "I'll be better off staying with someone else. What if I had been alone at my apartment a little while ago when they found that? I am not staying here alone."  
  
Lee took the address from Phillip. "She's right about being alone. Amanda and I will check out the apartment. He's probably there. Just in case he isn't, I want the three of you to go to the Coca-Cola office. Madison, you do whatever Phillip tells you." He gave her his best intimidation stare.  
  
"I will," Madison vowed quickly before Lee changed his mind.  
  
"If you all find him before we do I want you to wait. Follow him and let us know where you are. I want to be the one to confront him. Understand?" Lee looked from Phillip to Jamie.  
  
Jamie spoke up, "Yes sir." Phillip nodded.  
  
"All right. Let's go." Lee reached down to help Amanda up from the sofa and then motioned toward the door.  
  
"You all be careful, okay?" Amanda said over her shoulder.  
  
"Of course we will, mom." Jamie sighed.  
  
Madison could hear Lee chuckling from the hallway.  
  
Phillip followed Madison out the door. Amanda and Lee had gone toward the elevators while Jamie was heading toward the door to the stairs.  
  
"Oh, no," Madison muttered. "Not the stairs again."  
  
Phillip chuckled and put his hand at the small of her back to lead her down the hall. "Just remember you have to do whatever I tell you to do."  
  
Madison noted the husky tone of his voice, "Maybe in one of your better dreams." She laughed when he scoffed.  
  
"Will you two come on?" Jamie called in annoyance from where he was holding the door open. "We have a traitor to catch."  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
"I'm in Cincinnati," Gregory stated. "What's the situation at the hotel?"  
  
"We have not seen them since Phillip King and the woman returned here. We have not been able to determine which room they are staying in, either. What should we do?" Gill asked nervously. He knew that his boss was not happy because they'd been unable to retrieve the disk.  
  
"You fools." Gregory muttered in disgust. "I want you to meet me at the Coca-Cola building. You do know where that is, correct?"  
  
"Yes, sir," Gill gulped. "We will find it."  
  
"Good." Gregory hung up the phone and continued through the small airport. Lunken Airport had only small plane access so it was easier for Gregory to hide his weapon. There were no metal detectors in the small privately owned airlines. Ever since the events of last September it had become too difficult to hide a gun in luggage passed through large airports. He finally made it to the car rental counter and was on his way to meet Stevens. His mouth watered in anticipation of a new deal. Secrets were not as lucrative as weapons. He wanted one last big deal before his "retirement".  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
"So, now what?" Madison asked nervously as they circled the building. "Are we supposed to sneak in?"  
  
"Yes." Phillip reached into his pocket and pulled out a small lock pick. "Jamie, we'll go in this way. Check around the other side of the offices and see if you can find another entrance. just in case he's here."  
  
"Gotcha." Jamie walked along the side of the building and disappeared around the corner.  
  
Madison dropped her voice to a whisper. "What do we do if we find him?"  
  
Phillip turned the handle of the door and peeked inside cautiously. He then turned to Madison. "We keep him here till we call Lee. If he's alone we shouldn't have any problems." He opened the door and motioned for her to follow him in.  
  
"Shouldn't there be guards here or something?" Madison asked softly as they proceeded down a dimly lit corridor.  
  
"What are they going to protect? There's no money here. There really isn't anything worth stealing. I'd imagine they have someone who comes around later at night. Have you ever been here before?"  
  
"No, I have a friend that works here though. Why?" Madison whispered.  
  
"I was just wondering if you knew where the international shipping offices would be, since you said that's what he was investigating."  
  
"Phillip, his office number is 247. It was in his file."  
  
Phillip stopped and glared at her furiously.  
  
"Hey, you never asked," she pleaded, taking a step away from him and cringing slightly.  
  
"Fine," he picked up his phone and sent Jamie a digital message where they were headed. "Let's go," he instructed after he'd finished. He grabbed her hand and they continued to head down the hallway.  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
"So, what do you think of Madison?" Amanda asked curiously as Lee pulled into the complex where Stevens was living.  
  
"I don't know. Why?" He turned to her.  
  
"I was just wondering."  
  
"I think she probably knows more than she should -- that Phillip and Jamie shouldn't have let her into the Agency's network, but I also think she has a logical mind."  
  
"That's what I thought, too," Amanda concurred in a small voice.  
  
Lee reached over to squeeze her hand. "She'll be fine. We will find out what is going on and she can forget all about this day."  
  
Amanda nodded and pointed up to the third floor of the building. "That should be his apartment."  
  
"Okay, let me see if he's here. Stay here until I get in. I'll signal you to follow me. We don't know what this guy is up to. He may be dangerous."  
  
"Okay, be careful." Amanda said reflexively.  
  
Lee grinned mischievously, "Always."  
  
Amanda watched as he headed up the stairs. She quickly glanced at her phone to see if there were any messages from Phillip or Jamie. There was nothing. She looked back up to where Lee was knocking on the door. He knocked once more, then pulled a lock-pick out of his collar, quickly opened the door and headed inside. A few seconds later he came back out and walked back to the car. "He's not here," Lee sighed as he pulled the car door shut and gunned the motor. "Let's head over to the Coca-Cola plant, he must be there."  
  
"Let me message Jamie and Phillip and tell them that we are coming." Amanda picked up the phone and sent them the message as Lee peeled out of the parking lot.  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
Jamie was just entering the building from the opposite side as Madison and Phillip when he got the first message telling him which office belonged to Phantom. As he entered the hallway and started down the first corridor he received the second message.  
  
Knowing that Lee and his mother were on the way told him that Stevens was somewhere inside the plant. He hoped that Phillip and Madison were being cautious.  
  
He worked his way slowly down the corridor, trying to listen for anyone else that might be in the building. He was afraid that Phantom wasn't working alone. He was also nervous about having Madison here, now that he knew they were going to have to hold Stevens until Lee arrived to question him. As he reached the end of the first hallway he heard the sound of shattering glass from around the corner.  
  
"You didn't have to break the glass on the door to get in," the first man complained. "We could have just knocked."  
  
"I thought we wanted to hurry so the boss wouldn't be mad at us again."  
  
"I already told you. The fact that Phillip's car is out there means we can catch him before Gregory gets here."  
  
Jamie wondered who "Gregory" was and how Phantom was involved with him. He waited until the two men headed down the hallway in the opposite direction of where Jamie stood. After waiting a few seconds to make sure they were gone he pulled out his phone and tried to warn Phillip by messaging him. He carefully avoided the fallen glass and checked through the broken door for the mysterious "Gregory" before following the sounds coming from down the hallway.  
  
It sounded like Phillip and Madison had been spotted.  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
"This is it," Madison whispered, "Its room 247."  
  
Phillip leaned slightly around the open door to see if Phantom was in his office. The office light was on. Phillip slowly walked around the open door with his gun first and Madison followed like a shadow behind.  
  
"Well, if it isn't the Phantom himself." Phillip said softly.  
  
Stevens looked up expectantly. "I figured that you would find me. Jamie must have known immediately that the disk was mine." Phantom looked around Phillip to where Madison was nearly cowering. "So you're Ghost's sister. I did some checking into you when I found out Phillip was toting you around town. It didn't take me long to figure out your connection to the Spirit Council, although I confess that I was surprised your brother sent you in his place. He isn't normally a weak man."  
  
"My involvement was an accident," Madison snapped indignantly as she stalked forward. "I just happened to be there when Phillip needed a little help."  
  
"Of course," Stevens muttered. "Ghost would never sully his unblemished reputation that way. He always was the perfect one. From the beginning he was always the first to do things and he always did it to perfection."  
  
"So, are you going to tell us what's going on?" Phillip prodded impatiently.  
  
"I suppose I should," Phantom answered reluctantly. "You should know by now that I took the money. I wasn't a bad person."  
  
Phillip snorted, glancing at Phantom in disgust.  
  
"I wasn't," Phantom implored. "Anyway, once I had all that information tapped into I couldn't resist the temptation to try to sneak some of it out of those accounts. It was an irresistible challenge. After I'd gotten away with it the first few times I decided to try bigger amounts. Until the Spirit Council was dissolved I just kept collecting money. It wasn't real.... not to me. I didn't think that anyone would find out. There really didn't seem to be any problem with it. I didn't do it for money. I did it to show myself that I could be the most clever for once. Unfortunately, I wasn't clever enough."  
  
"What do you mean?" Madison asked nervously. She looked over at Phillip who was pulling his phone out of his pocket.  
  
"Check this." he instructed and tossed it to her. "It just vibrated. And I don't want our little friend here to think that he can move around." Phillip leveled the gun at Stevens' head.  
  
"It says watch the cats." Madison said confused. "Code for??"  
  
"There are other people in the building." Stevens answered confidently, "and they've arrived."  
  
"Yes, they have," A gruff voice confirmed.  
  
Madison slowly turned to see one of the thugs who had been chasing Phillip this morning pointing a gun at his back.  
  
"I suggest that you drop the gun, Mr. King," the man advised. "We wouldn't want anyone to get hurt."  
  
"Even if you shoot me I'll still hit one of you," Phillip bargained. "Plus I have reinforcements on their way."  
  
"I won't shoot you, I'll shoot her." The other thug had entered the room and had the gun pointed directly at Madison's heart.  
  
Phillip looked over at Madison slowly, silently gauging the situation, then he carefully dropped the gun to the floor.  
  
"Kick it here," the second man instructed firmly.  
  
Phillip's shoulders sagged slightly and he reluctantly did as he was told, kicking the gun out of his reach.  
  
"Jamie's somewhere near here. I suggest one of you go find him." Stevens said as goon number one handed him a gun.  
  
"I'll go," replied goon number two. "You two," he waved in Phillip and Madison and commanded, "Sit."  
  
The two of them sat down against the far wall. "I am sorry, Madison," Phillip whispered. "I wasn't expecting anyone else."  
  
"It's okay." She consoled. "How could you? We had no idea who else was involved."  
  
"Some protector I am." Phillip muttered ruefully.  
  
Stevens came towards them. "Can you two please be quiet? I'm trying to think."  
  
They looked up at him and closed their mouths, not wanting to make a bad situation worse.  
  
"Now, Gill, when did he say he was coming?" Stevens asked the remaining goon.  
  
"Well, he was at the airport on his way here when he called." Gill replied. "He should be here any minute."  
  
"Okay," Stevens sighed as he sat down with the gun in his hands. He turned to face Phillip and Madison again, "You wanted to know what was going on? Gregory will be able to tell you first hand since he's the one that caught me."  
  
"Yes, I did," Alexis Gregory walked into the room. "Gill, would you like to explain the mess I found in the hallway?"  
  
Madison thought that it was interesting how Gregory talked to Gill like a child. She watched as the man, Gregory cross the room. She estimated that he was about 6'1", stocky but not overweight. She stifled a laugh as she suddenly realized what he looked like.an accountant.  
  
"What you laughing at?" Gregory demanded icily, coming over to where she and Philip were sitting, pointing his gun in her direction.  
  
Madison paled and immediately sobered. "I'm not laughing at anything."  
  
"I didn't think so," Gregory stated confidently, slowly re-holstering his gun. "Please, Stevens, introduce me to your guests. I've heard so much about them."  
  
"Alexis Gregory, this is Madison Wright and Phillip King. They came to stop you from killing any more agents." Stevens introduced readily.  
  
"He was blackmailing you," Madison piped up in sudden realization as she turned to Stevens, "Somehow he found out about the money you took and convinced you to give him information."  
  
"Yes," Gregory replied. "I was working at the Russian Embassy in Washington D.C. as an accountant."  
  
Madison held in a grunt of amusement.  
  
"When we discovered that there was a discrepancy in the bookwork." He looked over at Stevens, "Fortunately our government doesn't trust computers, so we do everything by hand as well as in the computer. I found the discrepancy and traced it back to Stevens, then I decided that I would profit from the information I had uncovered."  
  
"So you wanted Agency secrets to sell?" Phillip interjected in disgust. He looked out into the hall where he could see the shadows of Lee and Amanda moving along the wall.  
  
"Yes, and it worked until a hired hand lost the disk during a transfer." Gregory growled. "I, of course, had copies. but I knew that if your brother got the disk he would know it was Stevens and find out how he was connected."  
  
Madison looked over to where Stevens was hanging his head in his hands. She glanced past him and saw Jamie at the window, slowly opening it. "You thought each time that he was going to give you back the disk," she surmised, desperately trying to think of a way to keep the bad guys from spotting Jamie. "How gullible can you be?"  
  
Gregory moved closer and shoved his gun inches from her face. "Shut your mouth, little missy."  
  
"Hey!" Phillip shouted, "Leave her alone! It's not her fault you two screwed your perfect little crime up." He abruptly jerked his arm up and knocked the gun out of Gregory's hands.  
  
Madison could do nothing but watch.  
  
As Phillip took care of Gregory, Lee Stetson and his wife disarmed Gill who was standing near the door and Jamie jumped on top of Phantom and grabbed for his gun.  
  
Gregory had managed to scramble away from Phillip and get hold of his gun again. He started to point it at Phillip then changed his mind and pointed it straight at Madison.  
  
Madison was completely frozen. She felt as if she were in a play watching events take place to someone else.  
  
Lee started forward to grab the gun and wrestle it away from Stevens.  
  
At the same time Phillip tackled Madison and knocked them both to the ground just as shot rang out. They landed on the ground with a thud.  
  
"Everyone okay?" Amanda asked as everyone started tying up criminals.  
  
"I'm fine," Madison answered in a shaky voice and slowly got to her feet.  
  
Phillip was slightly slower to rise.  
  
Madison turned, "Thank you for knocking me over," she laughed. "I never thought I would say that and mean it."  
  
He turned around to her with a small smile, "My pleasure." That was when they all noticed the bright red spot on Phillip's shoulder.  
  
"You're shot!" Madison shouted. "Why didn't you say something?"  
  
"It's just a scratch," Phillip lied as his vision doubled and he started to weave. Jamie quickly rushed to his side while Madison took the other before Phillip collapsed to the floor.  
  
*------------------------------------*  
  
"Thank you for driving us to the airport, Madison." Amanda said as the drove into the short term parking lot.  
  
"It's the least I can do. You all saved my life." She smiled in the review mirror to include Lee and Phillip in her comment. "You said Jamie's staying in town?"  
  
"Yes, I assigned him to clean up the mess at Coca-Cola and to finish the assignment that Stevens was given at the offices there." Lee answered.  
  
"That's nice. Maybe I'll see him around."  
  
"I should think not." Phillip muttered softly.  
  
"Excuse me, Phillip," his mother asked, "What did you say?"  
  
"Nothing," Phillip declined sourly.  
  
Madison walked them up to the terminals. Amanda chatted the entire time, telling her how glad they were that she was all right and thanking her for all her help.  
  
Phillip and Lee, however, were both silent.  
  
"Well," Madison stated reluctantly, "This is as far as I can go. The guards only let ticketed passengers past here."  
  
"Madison, thank you again," Amanda gave her a hug. "I hope that we get to see each other again soon."  
  
"Me too." Madison said sincerely, returning the hug.  
  
Lee walked up to her with his hand outstretched. She took the gesture as one of grudging acceptance and reached for his hand to shake it. When she did he engulfed her into a hug as well. "I'm glad you're okay. Phillip made a good choice when he handed that disk off to you."  
  
Amanda tried not to laugh.  
  
Lee let her go and without a second glance back led Amanda with a gentle hand at her back through the gate.  
  
Madison smiled and watched them go.  
  
"So, do I get a hug too?" Phillip asked sullenly from behind her.  
  
"What makes you think that you wouldn't?" Madison asked as she turned to face him.  
  
"Oh, I don't know. I save your life and you take me to the hospital and leave me. You didn't even come back to see that I was okay."  
  
"Phillip, I knew you were okay. It was after midnight before the doctors told us you were all right. I couldn't wait until you were allowed visitors. I had to get home and explain what I did that day to my parents. Which, I know, that they didn't believe in the least. I'm a terrible liar."  
  
"Well, after two days you could have at least called my cell phone instead of Jamie's," he grumbled.  
  
"Is that what this is about?" Madison demanded in disbelief. "You're mad because I called Jamie's phone instead of yours?"  
  
"No, I just thought that you and I were -- well -- we connected and then you don't bother to find out how I am..." he trailed off uncomfortably.  
  
Madison interrupted him by placing one finger over his lips. "Shh, you're babbling." She reached up, being careful of his shoulder sling and pulled his face toward hers. "Is this what you want?" She gave him a soft but insistent kiss and Phillip kissed her right back.  
  
Amanda and Lee stopped on the other side of the metal detector and looked back, taking in the scene before them.  
  
"So, do you think we have seen the last of Madison Wright?" Lee chuckled in amusement.  
  
"No. I think that it is amazing how in some ways history repeats itself." She reached down took his hand in hers. "And Phillip chose the best part of my past to repeat." She smiled into his shining eyes, "Let's go on to the gate. I think he'll catch up when he's ready."  
  
THE END  
  
A Big Thanks to Bridget who did the best Beta job ever! I apologize to those of you who wanted more Amanda and Lee.. Phillip and Madison insisted upon being the focus of the story. The other characters I introduced we obviously just imagined. I thought that the Agency world would have changed a bit since 1986, but not too much or we wouldn't love it so much! I hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks! Miranda 


End file.
